


distant stars come in black or red

by chinarai



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, M/M, One Shot Collection, Romance, Smut, and some major character death, check notes for more details, not gonna add the big warning for that bc it's just one drabble, recurring themes I guess - will add more as we go, s8 warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-09-16 17:46:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16958643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chinarai/pseuds/chinarai
Summary: Compilation of sheith one-shots.iii. surpriseHis birthdays have always been good, even when it was just him, a book and a sad cupcake with a lone flickering candle. With Keith and their family, though, they’re better. Perfect, even.





	1. drown me in your water

**Author's Note:**

> I was actually going to update something else, but I had some support to finally publish this so - thanks! Smut isn't really something I know how to write. This first piece has been collecting dust in my google docs, but it was practice based on [this piece by hchano](http://hchanoookay.tumblr.com/post/179037692165/ive-been-doing-smoochtober-over-on-twitter-and) that I stared at for far too long when it came out. 
> 
> Compilation title comes from Broken by Gorillaz, which is my fav song by them. Chapter title is from Lucky Strike by Troye Sivan, which is another great song I love.
> 
> This chapter contains: handjob, ass eating, intercrural sex.

The IGF-Atlas is a ship that lives up to its name, easily bigger than the Castle of Lions, full of crooks and nooks and rooms Shiro can hardly keep track of. Every day he finds an uncharted place, the ship’s original layout having changed after its first transformation, and he half expects it to never settle for one floor plan. 

All these hidden places come in handy, though, when he and Keith can barely keep their hands to themselves. Sometimes they make it to their room, and sometimes they have been so busy with missions and diplomatic meetings that they hardly have time to sleep, let alone spend some quality time together. So Shiro doesn’t really complain as they stumble through the hallways in the quiet of the ship’s night cycle, fingers fumbling and clutching what they can find, lips only parting for an intake of breath. 

He’s already forgotten all the plans they came up with and decisions they reached in the meeting with the rest of the crew, but he trusts that someone has them all jotted down for later. Iverson will probably be exasperated, but he’s the last concern in Shiro’s mind, and he forgets the man even exists when Keith catches his bottom lip between his teeth and tugs. 

It’s a conscious effort to move a hand away from Keith’s warm, firm body pressed against his own, but Shiro manages it somehow, slapping the wall beside his partner’s head to get the door to slide open with a  _ woosh _ . They trip their way inside, barely registering that the door closes once again, and Keith uses the opportunity to flip them around and walk him backwards towards the wall. Of course Shiro doesn’t complain, and even hums appreciatively when Keith’s fingers dig into his sides. 

He likes it. Even though Keith had grown some inches in the two years he lived stranded on the back of a space whale, he’s still smaller than Shiro, but his presence is demanding and insistent enough to make his head spin - or maybe that’s the lack of air in his lungs. Shiro pulls away with a gasp, manages to catch a breath before it’s taken away from him in a moan when Keith latches his lips onto his jawline, urgent and hot, trying to close the distance between them. 

Shiro guides Keith’s red and slick mouth to his with a hand curled around the hairs on the back of his head. Keith shivers pleasantly, inching his hands up Shiro’s chest to wrestle with the buttons of his uniform, hips canting forward when Shiro slides his thigh between both of his. A breathy moan leaves him and Keith pulls back to look up at Shiro with dark, heated eyes, hands pulling the lapels of his uniform apart to run his fingers over firm pectorals, over cotton-clothed nipples that harden under his touch. 

Keith’s stare keeps him pinned there, full of promises, and Shiro would gladly lay his heart in offering by his feet like Keith were a god if it meant they’d come true. He is tempted to get rid of every piece and barrier between them, but they won’t get very far unprepared as they are. As if sensing that his thoughts have strayed for a split second, Keith surges forward, recapturing his lips and erasing every little thing from Shiro’s mind that isn’t him, his tongue and touch and body heat.

The new prosthesis sweeps downwards, following the beautiful arc of Keith’s spine to settle on his ass, squeezing firmly and making his breath stutter. Keith’s lips move against his own, not in a kiss, but in an attempt to talk, though no words leave him in his first tries, only breathless gasps that Shiro swallows greedily. 

“Sh- Shiro...” His voice is so hoarse it makes Shiro’s skin prickle with goosebumps, lips falling open as he struggles to part his eyelids and look at Keith’s hypnotizing blue gaze. “Turn... Turn around, please…”

He licks his lips, more blood rushing south at the request. Shiro manages a nod and turns around ungracefully, catching his weight against the wall with his hands. A noise comes from Keith, and before Shiro can ask if he’s okay, eager hands are wandering Shiro’s broad chest again, mapping every ridge and defined muscle, tracing over scars earned in battle. Shiro bites his lips, whining softly as Keith switches between nibbles and open mouthed kisses to the nape of his neck.

Anticipation builds as Keith’s hands travel downwards, takes hold of Shiro’s hips and grinds his own hardness against his backside, mouthing at his still clothed back, the whispers of Shiro’s name breaking in gasps and hitched moans. Shiro shifts his weight every few seconds, angling his hips, impatient for more touch and friction. Finally, he’s rewarded, fingers brushing over the bulge of his inner thigh and the bulge in his pants before Keith goes for the button and zipper, opening them with some kind of controlled urgency Shiro’s come to associate with him. 

“K-Keith,” Shiro had something to say, but it all scatters to the wind when Keith’s hand slip under his underwear, the coarse fabric of his gloves making him jolt as pleasure shoots up his spine.

He covers his mouth with his prosthetic to silence the noises he’s making, the fingers of his other hand curling inwards, nails digging into his palms to leave crescent marks. Keith strokes him deliberately, grip firm the way he knows Shiro likes, lips still exploring his neck, pausing only to whisper praises.  _ Beautiful, so beautiful. Beautiful and-  _

“Mine.” Keith barely sounds coherent, and Shiro shivers helplessly, arching his back when Keith tugs the collar of his shirt away to run his hot, wet tongue on his overheated skin. “You’re mine.” 

It’s all the warning Shiro gets before Keith bites his neck, a sharpness to it that indicates he’s losing his senses. If he were to look back now, he’d see narrow irises and pointed canines, features he sees in wet and wild dreams, and the nightmares that revolve around their fight in that cloning facility. Shiro chokes on a cry, bites down on metal when Keith gives him a hard tug that nearly makes him come undone. 

“Please...” he asks - begs, really. For what, he doesn’t know, but trusts that Keith will give him exactly what he wants somehow.

He isn’t disappointed, nor is he left hanging as Keith works his pants further down his legs, kissing all the way down his back and thighs as Shiro kicks away his shoes and pants. Keith’s teeth graze his flesh, bites the swell of his ass as his thumb ventures into Shiro’s cleft, teasing the puckered skin, making him weak in the knees. 

Keith’s tongue replaces his thumb, every upward sweep and suckle drawing a noise from Shiro, the strong hands on his hips the only thing keeping the captain on his feet. Shiro rests his cheek on the wall, its coolness doing wonders to his burning cheeks as it feels like a fire is consuming his body from the inside. And Keith - Keith eats him like he’s a starving man, relentless, holding him in place tight enough to leave marks that Shiro will trace in front of the mirror and recall this moment until the bruises fade.

Through the haze clouding his mind, Shiro registers Keith’s hands leaving him and the muted sound of a zipper. As the tongue so intimately touching him disappears, he blinks his unfocused eyes and looks over his shoulder at Keith, the sight of his flushed face and Galran features, but most specifically moist, kiss-swollen lips making a thrill travel down straight to his crotch. Keith’s focus zeroes on his mouth, and soon Shiro is craning his neck to return the kiss, sloppy and messy and hungry, full of teeth and tongue. 

Keith positions them, pulls Shiro back a couple of steps and forces him to bend with a firm hand between his shoulder blades. Shiro feels his partner’s erection pushing into the tight space between his thighs, braces his weight against the wall with his elbows as Keith drapes himself on his back, settles a hand on his hip as the other returns to its place around Shiro. Keith’s hips draw back, and Shiro gasps; they slam forward, and Shiro moans. 

A steady pace builds from there, their moans and names ricocheting in the room, the air now stuffy and heavy with the smell of sweat and sex. Shiro’s fringe is plastered to his forehead, and Keith licks and kisses every bead of sweat that travels down his neck. Their uniforms will need some thorough cleaning once they’re done, and Shiro hopes they won’t run into anyone on the way to their room, because he’ll be utterly spent and flushed to pretend they were doing anything else. 

Keith jerks him off in time with his thrusts, his other hand travelling up Shiro’s side and chest, curling over his jaw and moving further still to slip two fingers into his mouth. Shiro moans around the intrusion, sucks on them, lets the fingers rest on his tongue as he parts his lips to pant, fighting to get air in his lungs. His body feels like a taut string close to snapping, so close to the edge, so close to the finish. 

And Keith bites again, hard enough to leave a mark, hard enough that he won’t be able to brush it off as a product of sparring, and Shiro comes, white exploding behind his eyelids as every ounce of frustration seeps away from his body - and Keith follows shortly after, teeth steadfast to sweat slicked skin, the wet warmth of his release trickling down Shiro’s thighs.

His hand falls away from Shiro’s mouth, leaving a path of drool in their wake, and Shiro relies on the wall to keep them both on their feet, Keith having gone boneless and pliant, still draped over his back. As their breathing and heartbeats slow down, Shiro gently nudges Keith away from his back before he can fall asleep. 

They dress again, sluggish and uncoordinated. Shiro has just slipped his foot into his shoe when Keith slumps against him, loosely wraps his arms around Shiro’s broad chest and tilts his head to kiss the underside of his chin. “Tired?” Shiro combs his fingers through dark, sweaty strands, and Keith nods sleepily, head now on his shoulder. “Let’s clean up and then we can sleep, okay?”

“Okay.” Keith lifts his head, struggles to keep his eyes open and smiles sweetly at him, and Shiro sweeps down to press an equally sweet kiss to his lips, pulling him out of the room by his hand. 

The walk back to their room is uneventful. The shower too, until Shiro drops to his knees and takes Keith into his mouth, coaxing him to drown into pleasure again. Maybe he can’t physically offer Keith his heart, but Shiro can worship him like a god. 


	2. you've taken my love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **warning for:** major character death, s8 epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a commission to my friend Yuu, who requested that I kill her in around 500 words
> 
> Title's from Queen - Love Of My Life

With two words, it’s over. 

Some part of him had hoped they wouldn’t get this far, hoped he was stuck in a disappointing movie ending, waking up to find that all of this was a dream. From the first time he took notice of the engagement ring to the fated  _ I do _ \- just a bad dream. The pain is too real, though, stealing the breath from his lungs, stabbing his heart with the sharpest luxite blade and hammering it until it crumbles to dust. 

Keith feels hollow and heavy all at once. 

He keeps quiet, the knot lodged in his throat is guaranteed to choke him up if he decides to speak. Miraculously his eyes stay painfully dry, but in contrast the smile he gives Shiro when their eyes meet is watery and uncertain. Shiro is swarmed by their friends and other guests, and Keith makes use of the opportunity to slink away and run, the red tie discarded along the way, left in his wake like the last piece of himself that will remain on Earth. 

“How did it go?” His mom asks, and he shrugs and diverts the topic to something else, heartbroken and full of restless energy he refuses to expend through tears. It’s a three day trip to the nearest Blade group fighting the last bits of supporters of the Galra Empire, and Keith uses the time to lie in his cot agonizing over images of two men in white sealing their marriage with a kiss. 

When tears slip through his tightly shut eyelids, he hates himself for it. 

Keith isn’t as emotionally stable as he makes himself to be, deceiving anyone who calls him with steady words and a practiced, plastic smile. In hindsight, he should’ve known this was a mistake. Krolia likely did, but chose to support him instead of speaking up against his terrible life choices. Later, she will regret it. Later, she will blame herself. 

Pidge is the last one he talks to before he finds himself caught amidst a flurry of laser beams, enemies surrounding their small team. He tries to lead them through it, but there are too many, too fast, and he’s too tired from sleepless nights and memories of sunset skies and a gazebo decorated with white blooms.

When it hits, it burns through his ribcage first, puncturing a lung. Another to his clavicle, and another to the base of his neck. Then he’s falling, coughing up blood when his back hits the ground.

When it stops, nothing hurts anymore. 

* * *

It’s early in the morning when Shiro’s communicator rings, Krolia’s name flashing on the screen. In their little honeymoon cot by the beach, he sets his coffee aside and walks away from the kitchen where Curtis is cooking breakfast, trying not to think much of it, but Krolia wouldn't call if it weren't urgent. He waits until she breaks the silence, voice small and hoarse.

Keith was killed in action.

Like the floor has disappeared from under his feet, Shiro crumbles, grief eating him up lightning fast, leaving him empty and cold. The communicator is ringing again, shrill and loud, and Curtis is talking, hovering, touching, concerned. Shiro clutches his own chest, gasping for breath and tasting salt on his tongue.

The loss feels like another limb was taken. 

It takes a death for him to realize that Keith had Shiro’s heart in his hands. 


	3. surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fluff - probably too fluffy, sheith as parents. happy bday, Sheewo!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of the drafts for my VLD Exchange to celebrate Shiro's birthday, but it didn't quite fit the prompts requested, and I didn't want it to gather dust, so here it is! Short and sweet feat. super creative title

It had been an okay day for Shiro, nothing out of the norm, despite the numbers on the calendar. Paperwork in the morning, lunch with Matt and Sam Holt, overseeing simulations in the afternoon and giving the cadets feedback on their performances. Hitting the gym when his shift is over, foregoing a shower in the facility in favor of one in the comfort of his home, and driving away from the Garrison to spend the night in the arms of the man he loves.

While he could have chosen to celebrate his birthday with his friends on Friday or Saturday, Shiro chose neither. He and Keith haven’t been sleeping well, or much at all, these past nights, adjusting to the new addition to their family. Their little girl carries a pair of healthy lungs, her shrill crying waking them up at odd hours of the night. He would like to have a proper night of sleep again, but seeing her smile when he stumbles into the room is worth all the sleepless hours. 

A celebration with only his husband, their daughter and Kosmo is enough for him. His coworkers had thrown him a simple surprise party the day before with store-bought snacks and cupcakes smothered in chocolate frosting, of which he had taken some home for Caly to eat until she had frosting smeared all over her face. He regretted it in the end when her sugar high wouldn’t let her sleep early, but just a little.

The light of the kitchen is turned on when he arrives, parking the car in the garage beside a red bike. Keith’s shift ended much earlier, and he had assured he would prepare something nice to celebrate Shiro’s birthday. He hopes it’s his favorite dish of mac and cheese, and hopes they can enjoy dinner sitting in the backyard to watch the stars. Being among them never gets boring, and he misses every second of it during their down time on Earth. But there’s something nice about watching the sunrise and sunset, too.

Shiro grabs his gym bag and enters the house through a door that connects the garage to the laundry room. Save for the kitchen, everything is dark, and he can hear Caly rambling some kiddie song, likely sitting in her high chair as Keith stirs the food. 

He’s surprised when he finds so many people cramped in the tiny space of the kitchen, and jumps when party poppers spew colorful confetti over his head, a chorus of  _ surprise _ drowning out the otherwise loud  _ pop  _ sound. Wide eyed, Shiro stares at their friends, Lance and Hunk, Pidge and her family, Allura, Coran and Romelle, Krolia and Kolivan - and even people from the Garrison, all grinning at him in their own ways, clapping. Colorful letters taped to the wall read  _ Happy Birthday Shiro, _ and balloons are scattered around the floor. 

His gaze swivels to an approaching Keith, a giggling Caly in his arms, and Keith leans up to peck him gently on the lips, whispering, “I tried to stop them, but you know how they are.” 

Shiro can only nod, a slow smile curling on his lips until he’s grinning wide. Caly wraps her little fist around his shirt, and he kisses the top of her head sweetly, turning to greet the first stream of people that come congratulate him, most of them for a second - or even a third - time. Keith walks away, smoothing down their daughter’s soft hair.

It’s not what he had chosen, but if Shiro could go back in time, he would change his mind. He may see most of his friends every day at the Garrison, or on the Atlas, but nothing compares to some real leisure time together. Hunk, as usual, made some divine snacks and treats; Lance put together a playlist, and sticks around the portable speaker to play DJ. Krolia hogs Caly to herself at some point, but then has to share her with Romelle and Allura, ever the doting aunts. Too much is happening at once to keep track, but he only has eyes for one person. 

Keith crosses the room towards him, a glass in each hand, long braid falling over one shoulder. He looks as tired as Shiro feels, but his smile is soft and genuine, crinkling the corner of his eyes, and affection swells inside Shiro. His hands fall on Keith’s trim waist to pull him closer, and he dips his head for a tender kiss that never fails to make his heart flutter. 

“Enjoying the party?” Keith asks, tucking his head into the crook of Shiro’s neck after passing him a glass of orange juice. 

“Yeah.” He would have taken a shower had he known this was planned; he can only hope he’s not too smelly, but Keith doesn’t complain. He never does. Shiro runs his fingers along Keith’s spine, making him shiver. “Whose idea was it?” 

“Lance wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Keith says against the skin of his neck. “The others didn’t really try to stop him either.” 

Shiro chuckles; that does sound like them. “I really do like it.” He leans away to thumb at the arched scar on Keith’s cheek, swooping down for another kiss. “Thank you.” Keith replies by pressing their lips together again.

It doesn’t take long for Hunk to reveal the cake, a three tier piece with Shiro’s favorite dark chocolate icing. Shiro, Keith and Caly stand behind the table for the first round of pictures, and Kosmo joins halfway, his enormous figure pushing them apart when he tries to fit himself in the space between their bodies. Caly reaches up to pat him, and the wolf leans into her tiny hand with a soft whine, eyes slipping closed. She giggles. 

From around the mass of blue fur, Keith smiles at him in that way that makes Shiro’s insides turn to warm goo. He returns it with a bright grin of his own, reaching over to place a large hand on their daughter’s back. She keeps her attention on Kosmo, and across the table, camera flashes keep going off, capturing this moment and the ones that follow, standing together behind the cake with family and life-long friends.  

“Happy birthday,” Keith whispers later when they’ve got slices of cake on plastic plates. Pidge and Hunk are making sure they won’t be getting sleep tonight, feeding Caly more dessert than she should eat. Shiro is already dreading another sugar high and considers assigning the both of them to babysitting duty for a weekend so they’ll personally understand how bad an idea that can be. 

“The best one yet,” he replies, leaning down to take the piece of cake offered by Keith.

“You say that every year,” Keith snorts, but smiles softly, eyes full of fondness. 

Shiro sweeps in for a kiss in lieu of answering, tastes the sugar and chocolate on his husbands lips, keeps it sweet and tame even when he wants to lick into Keith’s mouth until he’s trembling in his hands. His birthdays have always been good, even when it was just him, a book and a sad cupcake with a lone flickering candle. With Keith and their family, though, they’re better. Perfect, even.

**Author's Note:**

> come chat with me on [tumblr](https://chinarai.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/chinaraii) where it's sheith hours 24/7! [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/chinarai) is now also an option!


End file.
